When it comes to retail industry news, Amazon and Walmart are typically tagged as titans, giants or leaders in the space. But this week, that all changed as the top two players suddenly found themselves in the unusual position of laggards and followers — at least for a moment.
This as retail rival Target announced it was piloting a BOPIS 2.0 of sorts — or more precisely, a Buy Online, Return To Store, Coffee While You Wait feature. While none of the individual components of Target’s new curbside connected economy concoction are new (e.g. curbside, in-store returns and Starbucks takeout) the masterstroke of innovation is in the unprecedented cohesion and convenience that comes from pairing 1 + 1 + 1 to create something that’s greater than three.
See also: Target to Test Curbside Returns, Starbucks Orders
While the Minnesota-based chain can take credit for this simple but ingenious collaboration and momentarily bask in its accolades, there is no doubt that Amazon, Walmart and every other major retail player that dabbles in curbside-anything is going to think long and hard about how they can match — or try to beat — the biggest thing to happen to BOPIS since, well, the explosion of BOPIS at the start of pandemic lockdowns two years ago.
Like any new development, it’s safe to expect clones and derivatives to emerge shortly, whether from aggressive QSRs such as McDonald’s or Panera or via creative retail players looking to streamline touch-time and heighten the experience with customers surrounding returns, which can often strain a relationship.
Same on the pick-up side of things too. As curbside wait-times creep higher amid increased uptake of pre-ordered groceries, what better way to fill the void (and also grow ticket size) than to offer food and drinks to your best customers — maybe even for free as a loyalty perk?
Think about the potential. What CPG brand would not want access to a captive line of waiting Walmart customers to sample their latest product offering?
Either way, a curbside BOPIS renaissance has begun — even though the genre is only two years old — and the onus is now on the industry’s leaders to live up to that moniker.
Spring Has Sprung
Not quite five months after announcing the partnership, Walmart unveiled its first revamped “Free Assembly” spring clothing line designed by haute couture creator Brandon Maxwell.
Since the outset, the plan has been for Maxwell to bring his fashion sense and a little magic to elevate the retailer’s apparel offering in hopes of boosting sales and also winning over new customers.
“The storytelling that surrounds any brand is just as important as the product,” Maxwell said in a blog post conversation with Denise Incandela, the EVP of Apparel and Private Brands at Walmart U.S. which described his thinking behind the colorful 500 piece collection for men, women and children.
Read more: Walmart Launches Spring 2022 Lines, the First Created by Brandon Maxwell
“I wanted it to exude a sense of joy, optimism and color. I started to think about how that would all come together in the end, really making sure that the collection was presented in a way where it was all planted from the same seed,” Maxwell said. “It’s ultimately a story about happiness and being together, blooming fresh and new,” he added.
It’s also a story about closing the lead Amazon has built in the clothing and apparel category, which when last measured by PYMNTS in Q3, stood at about 7 percentage points.
Ex-Stream Opportunities
Both Walmart and Amazon were active on the streaming media front this week, with announcements aimed at attracting and retaining new non-store customers via tempting digital offerings.
In Amazon’s case, that involved a new multi-faceted streaming content agreement between Amazon Web Services and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the group that owns the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), Toronto Raptors (NBA), and Toronto Football Club (MLS) among other things.
See more: Amazon Deal With Maple Leaf Sports Puts Walmart Behind the Eight Ball on Streaming
According to the announcement, the plan is to “create and deliver extraordinary sports moments and enhanced fan engagement for new streaming sports experiences,” with (AWS) providing the artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and deep learning cloud services.
The deal follows Amazon’s $1 billion foray into NFL programming as well as its reported interest in launching in-studio sports commentary shows as part of a broader effort to get users to think differently about, and tune into, Prime Video shows.
For Walmart’s part, its streamed media announcement was more closely aligned with its core retail business, as it announced it was expanding its commitment to livestreamed shopping with a new slate of 8 recurring and regularly scheduled programs via a deepened partnership with TalkShopLive.
Read also: Walmart Deepens Livestreamed Shopping With Regularly Scheduled Programming
“[It’s] a tool to continue connecting with our customers, bringing both entertainment and product information to one place,” Walmart VP of Brand Casey Schlaybaugh said in the press release, which credited the success of the initial embedded live, shoppable content for the retailer’s decision to expand its partnership.
Walmart has previously called social commerce “the future of retail,” and its array of content distributed on no less than eight different platforms, including TikTok, YouTube and Twitter, is proof of its efforts to become more digital.
Reel ‘em In, Move ‘em Out
While the streamed media efforts are aimed at attracting new customers and creating new sources of revenue while deepening ties with existing subscribers, Amazon was also busy this week with a program aimed at getting customers OUT of its stores as quickly as possible.
“The Glover Park store [in Washington D.C.] is the first of two Whole Foods Market stores expected to open this year that feature Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology,” the company’s announcement said, noting that the second location in Sherman Oaks, California would be opening soon.
Read more: Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ Whole Foods Store Opens as Frictionless Checkout Takes Hold
According to the release, customers that chose to use the cashierless payment system and skip the checkout register can experience a faster, more convenient shopping experience with no change in the selection of products offered.
Last month, the retailer announced that it was rolling out its Just Walk Out platform to its budding Amazon Go convenience store chain beginning with a store in the affluent Seattle suburb of Mill Creek.
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